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Last-minute puts Arcadia over Basile

An incredible Arcadia touchdown completion with no time remaining produced improbable defeat for Basile Friday night in a Class 1A Quarterfinal playoff contest.

Arcadia wide receiver Kordel Cortez slipped behind the Basile secondary and caught a 65-yard scoring pass from quarterback Danquarian Fields as the game clock moved down to zero.

Fields then tossed a two-point conversion throw to wide receiver Anthony Boston Jr. to provide the final points and a 22-20 victory that put the Hornets into next Friday’s semifinal game against Haynesville.

The Arcadia touchdown occurred two plays after Basile grabbed its first lead on a four-yard Gabe Fontenot run. His subsequent two-point conversion run gave the Bearcats a 20-14 advantage that lasted only 15 seconds.

Arcadia (10-3) returned the kickoff to the 35 where Fields took the first down snap with six seconds left, scrambled to find the open receiver and successfully launched a pass to Cortez, who caught the ball 10 yards downfield and then raced into the end zone.

The Hornet’s final score ended a fourth quarter that featured four touchdowns — two by each team — in the last 11 minutes.

Basile (10-2), seeded second, ended the season in the Quarterfinal round for the fourth straight time.

Fontenot, a 190-pound senior running back, gained all but 53 of the Bearcats’ 264 rushing yards.

In the third quarter, Fontenot scored his other touchdown when he broke free on a 76-yard run with 9:44 remaining in the game.

That touchdown brought the Bearcats within two points (14-12) of the Hornets, who had scored their second touchdown on the second play of the fourth period.

Basile, which had limited opponents to 10 points, allowed the Hornets to seize an 8-0 lead on the game’s first possession.

Arcadia kept the 10-play, 55-yard drive entirely on the ground with Fields, and Corey Russell, Jr., doing all the work. Field scored the TD on a two-yard run and he also provided the two-point conversion.

The Bearcats had several opportunities to score after venturing deep into Arcadia territory during the first half, but the Bearcats failed to convert on any of their fourth down opportunities.

Basile saw one first quarter drive end at the Arcadia 11 and later in the period, the Bearcats advanced to the Hornets’ five. Each time the Bearcats were stopped on fourth down.

Punter returned Tray David provided Basile’s first touchdown with 11:21 left before halftime when he returned a short kick 38 yards. The Bearcats trailed 8-6 however, as David’s extra point pass was incomplete.

The Bearcats’ lost another potential scoring chance late in the second quarter when Fontenot reached the Arcadia 23. That drive ended when David was intercepted on a third down attempt.

Arcadia’s defense denied a fourth potential Basile scoring possibility on the initial possession of the second half.

On that drive Basile moved from the Arcadia 41 to the Hornets’ nine, but the Bearcats again failed to convert a fourth down at the Arcadia nine.

The Hornets used that defensive stop to trigger a 19-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 14-6 Arcadia lead after Fields threw Cortez three-yard scoring pass that came on fourth down with 11:54 left.

That TD was followed less than two minutes later by Fontenot’s 76-yard scoring run. The failure of another two-point conversion pass put the Bearcats behind 14-12.

The final BHS touchdown drive started at the Arcadia 45 and featured three straight Fontenot runs. On fourth down the Bearcats went to the air and David completed a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Jaylon Thomas on fourth down.

That play put the ball at the Arcadia 16 and Fontenot took it in five plays later and four yards out. His two-point conversion put the Bearcats in front 20-14..